No Sam Darnold Tag Means Vikings Must Spend Early and Often
NFL Free agency is quickly approaching, and that means the Minnesota Vikings will go to work trying to plug plenty of roster holes. Not only did they have deficiencies last season, but they also have an absolute boatload of players hitting the open market.
No Sam Darnold Tag Means Vikings Must Spend Early and Often
There was a time when putting the franchise tag on Sam Darnold made sense. There may have been a calculated level of risk, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should have been posturing with the hope of landing additional draft picks.
Currently, the Minnesota Vikings have just three selections in the upcoming April 2025 NFL Draft. After their first-round pick at number 24 overall, they aren’t scheduled to be back on the clock until the fifth round. For a team hoping to land developmental and controllable talent, that’s a problem.
If there’s a solution, it’s that the Vikings have a considerable amount of cap space. They aren’t going to be given the greatest amount of spending power, but they are nowhere near the cap hell that the New Orleans Saints find themselves in.
When looking at just how the Vikings supplement the roster, Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell must know they’ll need to attack the free-agent market. Swinging big on impact players is a must. They should feel confident about plenty of players being brought in as immediate starters.
Even if the Vikings choose to trade down from their first-round spot, they aren’t going to experience a windfall of draft compensation. They also risk more uncertain rookies being thrust into immediate roles they are not yet ready for.
Ultimately, the cap space Minnesota has generated for themselves has to be used to the fullest. The front office should be shrewd in dispersing the dollars, but they should go into the draft feeling like they are making more finishing touches rather than thinking they have a substantial amount of heavy lifting to do.
In the post-Kirk Cousins era, and without paying Sam Darnold (because they should not), this is the spending spree you get to experience. Now, go do something to execute on it.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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